New York Subway Maps Come Alive With Interactive Visualization App

Tunnel Vision is a smartphone app that adds interactivity to New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) maps. By pointing the phone’s camera at a subway or bus map, users can view real-time position data for transit vehicles along with overlays of U.S. Census data and turnstile activity at each station. The app, which requires no Internet connection and can be used inside subway stations, also shows estimated arrival times, which can be helpful when a station’s official timetable display is broken or absent.

Travis Korte is a research analyst at the Center for Data Innovation specializing in data science applications and open data. He has a background in journalism, computer science and statistics. Prior to joining the Center for Data Innovation, he launched the Science vertical of The Huffington Post and served as its Associate Editor, covering a wide range of science and technology topics. He has worked on data science projects with HuffPost and other organizations. Before this, he graduated with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley, having studied critical theory and completed coursework in computer science and economics. His research interests are in computational social science and using data to engage with complex social systems. You can follow him on Twitter @traviskorte.